The Canal Tour Route

A standard 1-hour canal tour in Copenhagen leaves Ved Stranden, passes Christiansborg, crosses the harbour to the Playhouse and the Opera House, runs out to the Little Mermaid and returns past Amalienborg, the Royal Library and Slotsholmen. For the fullest route on a large boat, we recommend Stromma’s Classic Canal Tour & The Harbour: 1 hour 45 minutes for about $37 per person, adding the Genetically Modified Mermaid and Nordhavn. If an hour is enough, Stromma’s Canal Cruise with Guide covers the classic loop for about $24.

What does the standard 1-hour tour pass?

This is the order on the Canal Cruise with Guide itinerary, with what to look for at each point.

The boat finishes at Ved Stranden or Nyhavn. Our Nyhavn departures guide explains the two docks.

How does the 1 h 45 harbour tour extend the route?

The Classic Canal Tour & The Harbour keeps the classic sights and adds 45 minutes further along the harbour. Past the Little Mermaid you reach Bjørn Nørgaard’s Genetically Modified Paradise, a sculpture group made for Expo 2000 and set up at Langelinie in 2006, a few hundred metres from the original mermaid. The boat then continues to Nordhavn, the former industrial port being rebuilt as a new district. Its landmark is The Silo, a grain silo converted into apartments in 2017.

The tour is always live-guided in English and Danish, runs on a covered boat in rain or shine, and departs Ved Stranden 26. It is rated 4.5 from 672 reviews. Stromma charges DKK 249 for it at the dock, about $37, so the online price matches.

Which routes pass the Little Mermaid?

Not every 1-hour route does. Here is what each tour’s own listing says.

She sits at Langelinie, and at 1.25 m she looks small from a boat. Bring a zoom lens if you want a close photograph.

Do canal tours go through Christianshavn?

Many of the small-boat tours do, and that is where the bridges are lowest. The best-documented low point is Børnehusbroen in Christianshavns Kanal, with 1.9 m of clearance at normal water level. Operators ask passengers to stay seated under the low bridges, and at high water some canals can be skipped for another route. Our what to expect guide covers seating and the bridges.

The Guided Boat Tour Through Beautiful Canals names Christianshavn, the Church of Our Saviour and the Circle Bridge on its itinerary. The Electric Canal Tour with live guide & hygge and the 1-hour private tour both list Christianshavn too. Look up at Our Saviour’s spire, finished in 1752, for its staircase that winds around the outside.

What has changed along the route?

Børsen, the Old Stock Exchange on Slotsholmen, lost about half the building and its dragon-tail spire in the fire of 16 April 2024. It is under scaffolding, and the rebuild is targeted for completion in 2029, so for now you pass a building site.

On Papirøen, the street-food hall closed in 2017 and the island has become housing and a hotel. Its Water Culture House, designed by Kengo Kuma, opens in autumn 2026. Further out, Reffen on Refshaleøen runs an autumn season until 1 November and closes from November to February.

Which route suits you?

For a first look at the city in an hour, take the Canal Cruise with Guide. For more harbour and the modern north, take the Classic Canal Tour & The Harbour. For Christianshavn’s narrow canals in a small boat, pick one of the electric tours in our price guide. For Trekroner Fort, the 4-hour option of our private boat tour goes all the way out.

See every route side by side on the homepage comparison, or browse all tours.